On Tuesday we held an educational meeting at Center for Early Learning-North. Michelle Ribaudo called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone there, then the other officers presented some information.
Tara Arnett then gave a brief treasurer’s report detailing some of the recent things our money has been spent on since the last meeting – including a mini-grant that allowed a classroom to get class pets to care for. She also let us know about this month’s SEPTA Spotlight: Brian Vaughn. As always, if you have a staff member who you know does an incredible job, nominate them at our SEPTA Spotlight submission page. All nominees automatically go into the running for our end-of-year SEPTA Awards in May.
Our secretary Sara Rivera, reminded us of the Resource Fair in late spring. Last year’s was a big success, and Sara would love to hear from anyone who’s interested in helping out this year – whether it be with organizing, with set up, with clean up, or to host a booth. Reach out to her at comosepta@gmail.com with Resource Fair in the subject.
Our vice president Amie VanMorlan then gave some updates on things that the Social Committee is working on. We’ll be having a Valentine’s Party for SEPTA members’ families on Thursday, February 13 from 5:30-7:30pm at WellCare (4205 Philips Farm Road). There will be snacks and activities for the kids, and tons of fun. There is also talk of a Parent/Child Wellness Day event, sort of spa-themed.. who couldn’t use more relaxation? Third, the Kindness Club at Gentry has been going along so well. Ms. Greenlee who runs it is eager to help to expand this to other schools as well. I believe Beulah Ralph is looking into starting one there. Our hope is that it can spread so that every school can host a Kindness Club. We’d like to be able to help with providing snacks and activities, so that the amazing staff who sponsor the clubs at the schools can focus on the students. And finally, Amie also mentioned that she’s already working on ideas for this year’s Inclusion Walk. Last year it was at the very end of August, and an absolute blast. If you have ideas or would be interested in helping out with it, e-mail comosepta@gmail.com with Inclusion Walk in the subject.
It’s obvious that our officers are an important part of SEPTA. However, our current president, vice-president, and treasurer are not eligible to continue their roles based on the limits we have in our bylaws. We have officer elections coming up at our March meeting, so a nominating committee was formed. Tara, Gretchen, and Jessica were selected for that committee and we look forward to seeing who they suggest for officers. And if there’s anyone out there who’d like to step up, we’d love to have you! E-mail us and let us know you’re willing.
As for other SEPTA-hosted events coming up, we have a couple in February. On Saturday the 8th from 9am to noon, Kelly Ott will be giving a workshop on building IEP goals. Space is limited so make sure you register here, then head over to 101 N Keene St on the day. For those needing professional development hours, a certificate for 3 hours of continuing ed will be issued. And swing by the library on February 19th at 6:15pm for a school board candidate forum focused on special education issues. All four candidates have indicated they’ll be there to talk with us. If you have specific questions you’d like us to add to our lineup (time permitting), please e-mail them to comosepta@gmail.com by February 1st.
Finally, CPS’s Mr. Vince Thompson gave a presentation focused on what is done in CPS regarding de-escalation. He gave a bit of history on when CPS chose the program that they currently use (Safe Crisis Management or “SCM”), and why it was selected. In SCM there is a continuum of intervention focused on using the least restrictive alternative. A lot of focus is put on catching things in the early stages of escalation so that things can be de-escalated without ever having to place a student in a hold. There’s a list of things to try to calm the situation before it gets to a point where the student loses control. Non-verbals are where you start – things such as hand signals, proximity, or I’m sure we’re all familiar with “the Mom Look.” Ha! If that doesn’t work, you can try Paraverbal cues – altering the rate, tone, or volume of your voice while still saying the same thing. After that, you try verbally addressing the problem but even there it’s broken down into stages. Start with encouragement, where you still state the expectation but with encouragement as well. If that doesn’t work, try discussing what is going on, why, what options there are. And then there’s direction – by this point, it’s not up for debate what they need to do. You give a direction for them to follow.
Ideally, one of those tips would have helped defuse the situation before it got to be too much. But we all know the ideal doesn’t always happen. Maybe you were busy and missed the escalation, or maybe the student had something happen that shot them from 0 to 60 with no time in between. When they’re up at the top, out-of-control of their actions, you just try to manage the situation. At this point is where Emergency Safety Interventions might come in.. though not necessarily. If this student’s out-of-control actions are screaming things, that’s not a physical harm to themselves or others. If they’re wandering the room and knocking things over, that’s not a harm. If they’re attempting to hit/kick/throw things at someone else, you need to intervene with a hold to keep everyone safe. Mr. Thompson stressed that the hold is done only as long as it takes for that student to get their body back under their control. They don’t need to answer questions, they don’t need to promise things, they don’t need to compliantly follow directions.. they just need to be not continuing unsafe behavior. As soon as that’s met, even if it’s just 20 seconds, they’re released. He also said that while he couldn’t provide parent training on how to utilize SCM, he could demonstrate a couple holds for informative purposes. It was nice to see that the holds used are designed not to place any pressure on a student’s chest/restrict breathing in any way.
All in all, it was nice to get the chance to see what our schools are taught about utilizing restraint, and reassuring to hear that it’s intended to be a safety-only resort. And the line about “It’s only behavior, it’s not personal” definitely hit home.